Child Support in Alaska
When parents are not in a relationship, one parent (the obligor) pays child support to the other parent (the obligee) to contribute to the care of their child. They pay until their child turns 18 or graduates high school at 19.
Which parent pays support depends on the parenting time schedule. Generally, the parent who spends significantly less time with the child pays support. In shared custody situations, the parent who owes more under the support calculation pays.
Calculating child support
The main factors in the support amount are:
- Each parent's income
- Number of children
- Number of overnights with the children in a year
Income includes your earnings, Permanent Fund Dividend checks, and benefits like social security and unemployment. Deductions are made for things like federal taxes and retirement contributions.
Additional expenses, like daycare costs and the child's health insurance premium, may also factor into the support amount.
The support formula depends on your parenting time arrangement.
- Primary custody: One parent has at least 256 overnights a year.
- Shared custody: Both parents have at least 110 overnights a year.
- Divided custody: Parents each have primary custody of different children.
- Hybrid custody: Parents share custody of at least one child, while one or both also have primary custody of another child (or children).
Fill out the child support forms for your arrangement to figure your exact support amount. The Child Support Enforcement Division (CSED) has a child support calculator that can help you fill out your forms.
Get a quick support estimate using the calculator at the top of this page.
Alaska's Civil Rule 90.3 explains more about how to calculate support.
Applying for child support
You can apply for child support when you petition for divorce, dissolution or custody, or when you register for services with CSED.
If you apply through court, it's still recommended that you register for CSED to manage your support order. The agency will collect and release payments to you so you don't have to interact with the other parent, and they'll automatically take enforcement action if the obligor falls behind on support.
Modifying child support
After three years, you can modify support through court or CSED depending on who made your order.
If CSED made your order, file a Request for Modification with the office.
If the court made your order, file a Motion to Modify with the court.
Your order can change sooner if there's been a material change of circumstances, like loss of income or a child aging out. The new support amount must be 15% more or less than the current amount, otherwise your order will stay as is.
Paying and receiving child support
There are a few ways to pay support through CSED. Most commonly, payments are automatically deducted from the obligor's income, then deposited into the obligee's bank account.
If you don't have a case with CSED, you can pay the other parent via direct deposit, cash or check. Keep track of support payments in case you need to go to court.
Enforcing child support
CSED will take action if an obligor falls behind on payments. CSED can:
- Garnish wages
- Put liens on property
- Seize tax refunds
- Suspend professional and driver's licenses
The court won't take enforcement action unless you file a motion to enforce child support.
Missed child support payments are known as arrears. You can pay them off in monthly installments.
Getting an accurate child support order
Your parenting timeshare impacts how the court calculates child support.
Estimating your number of overnights, rather than calculating them exactly, can impact your child support order by thousands of dollars a year.
Still, attorneys and the court usually estimate because manually tallying days is time-consuming.
The Custody X Change app lets you quickly calculate your time with your child.
Try this with Custody X Change.
Whether you're paying or receiving child support, use Custody X Change to make sure your calculation is exact. The number will affect you, your child and the other parent for years to come.